Juan Mata's Chelsea Season in Pictures and GIFs

It's been a wonderful season for all, but only a handful of players can be as proud as their achievements as the little Spanish magician Juan Mata.

Winning the Champions League, securing his first piece of silverware in English football and voted as the club's Player of the Year, it would have been a difficult task to emulate Mata's debut season at Stamford Bridge.

And while the team have failed to live up to their high expectations this season, Mata has excelled once again on an individual level.

The Spaniard has netted an impressive total of 18 goals from the central playmaker position, and has been the main source of creative play for the Blues too. Let's forget his amazing tally of 34 assists, which is almost unrivaled at the top level.

According to the statistics provided by WhoScored.com, the ex-Oviedo player is the leading the pass-maker in the side, with a total of 1,652 attempted with a success rate of 85.7 percent.

But here's the important statistic which shows why the 25-year-old holds the key to any Chelsea success: a total of 83 key passes—which mainly consist of those in the final third—were made to his Chelsea teammates. 

Of those 83 passes, 34 assists have been registered; simple mathematics show that of Mata's 83 key passes, around 42 percent of them eventually lead to goals.

Perhaps his pass of the season was to Demba Ba in the FA Cup quarter-final replay victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

After receiving the ball from Eden Hazard 40 yards from goal, Mata swiveled on the ball and in acres of space, lofted a perfectly-weighted lofted pass into the path of Ba, who to his credit fired home a stunning strike from close range.

There have been occasions where his team has been struggling, and it has been up to the former Valencia man to provide the inspiration for victory. The amount of times he has come up with the goods shows why Chelsea chose to spend the best part of £26 million to secure his services.

An excellent double flick to prevent the ball being left behind against Sparta Prague helped him create the opportunity for a goal, but the goalkeeper was equal to it and made a superb save to deny him.

Of course, like any player, Mata has experienced his fair share of below-par performances. Against the more physical teams such as Everton, the Real Madrid academy graduate tends to struggle impose himself on the game.

It's fair to say defending is not his most-celebrated attribute, but at times he is easy to dispossess if under pressure. At 5'7", he is a whole foot smaller than Stoke's towering striker Peter Crouch.

And so, perhaps his lack of height or physical strength can limit his influence as the midfield area becomes more of battle. In addition, his elegance and lack of pace has it's downsides; the midfield maestro is an easy target to bully in the center of the park.

Nevertheless, he is one of the most deadly set-piece takers around, with corners and free-kicks now Mata's responsibility.

A brilliant strike in the 3-2 defeat by Manchester United this season highlighted just how dangerous his left boot is, curling a wonderful effort past his Spain teammate and friend David De Gea.

De Gea did have the last laugh in the FA Cup quarterfinal clash at Old Trafford, denying Mata a last-gasp winner, acrobatically saving with his feet when his effort looked to be sailing towards the corner.

Not to forget it was his corner which Didier Drogba headed home in the Champions League Final triumph last season. Many more deliveries from Mata have led to goals for Chelsea; they are the side who has scored the most goals in the Premier League.

Weaknesses aside, there is no denying that he is now entrenched in the "world class" bracket. His performances this season led to him being named in the PFA Team of the Year, as well as being nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award.

And more recently, he came third in the Football Writers' Association awards, with Gareth Bale chosen as the worthy winner. While Mata may not have won, it symbolized that his quality is finally being recognized by everyone in English football.

Undeniably, he is a great player and the delightful aspect about Juan Mata that at 25 years of age, there is surely more to come from the bearded genius.

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